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| United States Patent |
5,038,408
|
|
DeBaene
|
August 13, 1991
|
Work pants
Abstract
Pants for use when performing work in which sitting and kneeling take place
frequently, as in roofing work, the pants having effective special
construction in the seat and knee areas.
| Inventors:
|
DeBaene; David N. (285 Hill St. Unit #10, Coventry, RI 02816)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
603557 |
| Filed:
|
October 26, 1990 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
2/23; 2/51; 2/79; 2/227; 2/267; D2/742 |
| Intern'l Class: |
A41D 013/00 |
| Field of Search: |
2/23,51,79,214,267,227
|
References Cited
U.S. Patent Documents
| 727243 | May., 1903 | White | 2/23.
|
| 907050 | Dec., 1908 | Hestness | 2/23.
|
| 932990 | Aug., 1909 | Madill et al. | 2/227.
|
| 1099875 | Jun., 1914 | Fuiks | 2/227.
|
| 1195523 | Aug., 1916 | Sonnenberg | 2/51.
|
| 1304613 | May., 1919 | Smedley | 2/227.
|
| 1366809 | Jan., 1921 | Kenrick | 2/227.
|
| 1654452 | Dec., 1927 | Bradley | 2/23.
|
| 2138588 | Nov., 1938 | Wann | 2/227.
|
| 2346082 | Apr., 1944 | Riedl | 2/227.
|
| 4282608 | Aug., 1981 | Amberg | 2/227.
|
| 4561124 | Dec., 1985 | Thompson | 2/227.
|
| 4613991 | Sep., 1986 | Grover | 2/227.
|
| 4922551 | May., 1990 | Anthes | 2/79.
|
Primary Examiner: Schroeder; Werner H.
Assistant Examiner: Hale; Gloria
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Barlow & Barlow, Ltd.
Claims
The invention having been thus described, what is claimed as new and
desired to secure by Letters Patent is:
1. Work pants, comprising
(a) a waistband portion, a front panel and a rear seat portion joined by
right and left outer seams, and
(b) two leg portions, each of which includes a reinforcing panel in the
knee area, wherein the said rear panel of the waist portion is formed of a
highly wear-resistant sheet material, the said reinforcing panel in the
knee area consists of a lamination of an inner resilient pad and an outer
wear-resistant sheet, the resilient pad being formed of a closed-cell
foamed polymer, and wherein said sheet material in the rear panel is
leather with the rough surface facing outwardly and the smooth surface
facing inwardly.
2. Work pants, as recited in claim 1, wherein said outer wear-resistant
sheet in the knee area is leather with the rough surface facing outwardly.
3. Work pants, as recited in claim 1, wherein a right leg portion has a
hook for holding a hammer along an outer seam, and wherein a left leg
portion is provided along an outer seam with a pencil pocket.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
There are certain situations in the construction trades in which the worker
is subjected to specific abrasions and discomfort to localized portions of
his body. This is particularly true in the case of roofing work, because
the surface which is being worked on (shingles and roofing boards) is
particularly rough in texture and because the work is done while kneeling
or sitting on the surface. While it is customary for workers in this trade
to wear demin pants or jeans, the abrasion causes the pants to wear rather
rapidly, while the demin provides very little protection for the worker's
knees. In the past, workers who do a great deal of kneeling (roofers,
floor installers, and tile layers) have used rubber pads held on by
elastic bands, but these tend to twist, fall down, and to cut off blood
circulation.
Attempts have been made over the years to reinforce work pants by attaching
patches of various materials. This is shown in the patent of Sheppard U.S.
Pat. No. 509,693 (inside of seat of pants), the patent of Smedley U.S.
Pat. No. 1,304,613 (layer of cloth inside of knee), the patent of Mock
U.S. Pat. No. 1,711,611 (wool liner in seat of pants), the patent of
Modesitt U.S. Pat. No. 1,777,620 (canvas patch held by snaps to exterior
of knee or seat), and the patent of Atack U.S. Pat. No. 4,035,844 (knee
patch sewed in place). Several patents show a pocket located at the knee
area with an inserted resilient pad, these being such patents as those to
Walker U.S. Pat. No. 2,355,193, to Smith U.S. Pat. No. 3,168,146, to
Thompson U.S. Pat. No. 4,861,124, to Grover U.S. Pat. No. 4,613,991
(leather patches), to Denman U.S. Pat. No. 4,831,666, and to White U.S.
Pat. No. 727,243. The patent of Carson U.S. Pat. No. 1,293,700 shows knee
protectors held in place by straps;, while the patent of Mitchell U.S.
Pat. No. 2,568,083 attaches them with zippers and the patent of Herbelin
U.S. Pat. No. 588,907 shows the permanent attachment of a pad (which may
be hair) held on the pant leg by a hollow casing (which may be leather).
All of these constructions have suffered from various deficiencies,
including non-durability, complexity, costly details, and failure to
protect the worker adequately. These and other difficulties experienced
with the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the
present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide work
pants having a high degree of resistance to wear.
Another object of this invention is the provision of pants for used in
roofing work and the like, which pants protect the worker from abrasion
and discomfort.
A further object of the present invention is the provision of work pants
which are simple and rugged in design, which can be inexpensively
manufactured from readily available materials, and which are capable of a
long life of useful service with a minimum of maintenance.
A still further object of the invention is the provision of work pants
having protective knee pads which dry easily when they become wet.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a pair of pants having
wear-resistant panels which are, nevertheless, aesthetically pleasing in
appearance.
Another object of the invention is the provision of work pants which are
provided with panels that resist sliding when the wearer is working on an
inclined surface.
Another object of the invention is the provision of pants having wear
resistant and protective panels that are not easily torn.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled
in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in
the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In general, the invention has to do with a pair of work pants, having a
waist portion including a front panel and a rear panel, and having two leg
portions, each of which includes a reinforcing panel in the knee area, the
rear panel of the waist portion being formed of a highly wear-resistant
sheet material.
More specifically, the reinforcing panel in the knee area consists of a
lamination of an inner resilient pad and an outer wear-resistant sheet.
The resilient pad is formed of a closed-cell, foamed polymer. The sheet
material in the rear panel is leather with the rough unfinished surface
facing outwardly. The outer wear-resistant sheet in the knee area is
leather with the rough surface facing outwardly.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The character of the invention, however, may be best understood by
reference to one of its structural forms, as illustrated by the
accompanying drawings, in which:
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a pair of work pants incorporating the
principles of the present invention and shown in use on a construction
worker.
FIG. 2 is a substantially front elevational view of the invention,
FIG. 3 is a substantially rear elevational view of the invention, and
FIG. 4 is a somewhat schematic view of a knee panel forming part of the
invention.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring first to FIG. 1, which best shows the general features of the
invention, the pair of work pants, indicated generally by the reference
numeral 10, is shown in use by a construction worker 11. The pants are
formed with a waist portion 12 which is made up of a front panel 13 and
rear panel 14. The pants are also provided with two peg portions 15 and 16
extending downwardly from the waist portion.
FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate the details of construction of the work pants 10,
including the manner in which the rear panel 14 of the waist portion is
formed from a single piece of leather. The rear panel is sewn to and
covers the back of the pants. It also extends from one side to the other
of the front panel 13. In the preferred embodiment, this rear panel is
arranged so that the smooth side of the leather faces inwardly and the
rough side faces outwardly. The thickness is selected to give sufficient
flexibility to conform to the body of the user, while maintaining adequate
stiffness that protrusions, etc., on a surface on which the worker sits
are not transmitted through the material to the body of the user.
As is evident from the drawings, the leg portion 15 is provided with a
reinforcing panel 17 in the knee area and the leg portion 16 is provided
with a similar panel 18. Each panel extends completely across the front of
its leg portion from leg seam to leg seam, so that the edges along the
seams share in the stitching used to secure the pant material at the seam.
There may be double or triple stitching at this point and different types
of thread may be used.
The construction of the reinforcing panels is clearly shown in FIG. 4; the
panel 17 consists of two layers 19 and 21 which are held by large stitches
22 to the demin making up the front of the leg portion 15. In the
preferred embodiment, the outer layer 19 is formed of leather and used in
such a way that the smooth surface faces inwardly (in contact with the
inner layer 21) and the rough surface faces outwardly. The inner layer 21
is substantially thicker than the outer layer 19 and is formed of a sheet
of closed-cell, foamed polymer, such as polyethylene. The closed-cell
structure insures that the layer be substantially impermeable, while
providing a high degree of resiliency.
As is evident in FIG. 2, which shows the arrangement for a right-handed
carpenter, the outer side of the right leg portion 16 is provided with a
leather hammer loop 23. In FIG. 3, it can be seen that the outer side of
the left leg portion 15 is provided with a leather pocket 24 for pencils.
All of the parts of the work pants, except for the rear panel 14 of the
waist portion 12, are made of heavy- duty demin, including belt loops 25
at the upper part of the waist portion. It is desirable that the demin
material be doubled and sewn at the bottom edges of the leg portions 15
and 16 to form bottom seams 26 and 27, respectively. This same doubling
technique is used at the inner and outer longitudinal seams, particularly
in the location where the vertical edges of the reinforcing panels 17 and
18 are attached. Similar reinforcing seams are used on slash pockets 28
and 29 and on the fly 31.
The operation and advantages of the present invention will now be readily
understood in light of the above description. It is evident that the work
pants 10 are particularly useful in the construction work involved with
the application of roofing. In this type of work, the worker 11 often
kneels and sits while laying tar paper and shingles in place. The rough
surfaces of the shingles and roof planks (or plywood) are very
uncomfortable and abrasive. Conventional demin jeans quickly wear out
under such treatment, thus leading to accentuated discomfort and,
ultimately, to destruction of the jeans. It can be seen, then,, that this
leads not only to making roofing work uncomfortable, but the expense of
frequent replacement of work jeans is appreciable.
When the work pants 10, constructed in accordance with the teachings of the
present invention, are used in roofing or similar work, the advantages are
quite clear. When the work is done in a seated position on an inclined
roof, the rough outer surface of the leather rear panel 14 provides
considerable friction to inhibit sliding and, therefore, increases safety.
At the same time, the smooth inner surface promotes sliding of the
worker's buttocks within the pants, thus contributing to comfort. So, the
leather rear panel 14 leads to safety, comfort, and long wear.
When the roofing work involves kneeling on an inclined roof, the rough
outer surface of the leather layer 19 of the reinforcing panel 17
increases the safety for the workman, because it provides increased
friction, as compared with that provided by unreinforced demin. At the
same time, the smooth inner surface of the leather allows sliding between
the layer 19 and the resilient inner layer 21, thus facilitating leg
movement and knee bending without resistance. Furthermore, in such work it
is common for the worker's knee area to become wet, either because of rain
or of dew on the roof. The fact that the resilient layer 21 is of
closed-cell structure means that such wetness will not be absorbed and,
therefore, the combination of demin, closed-cell foamed polymer, and
leather at the knee joint will dry quickly. It is clear, then, that the
present knee panel construction serves to promote safety, comfort, and
long wear.
It is obvious that minor changes may be made in the form and construction
of the invention without departing from the material spirit thereof. It is
not, however, desired to confine the invention to the exact form herein
shown and described, but it is desired to include all such as properly
come within the scope claimed.
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